The Braves Have Close Calls and Closer Problems

Sponsored by

The many definitions of “close”
To truly understand the definition of the word “close” we must first understand that it is a homograph, meaning that in its uses it is spelled the same but pronounced differently.

“Close” can be an adjective- meaning a short distance away or little space or time between. For example, “the Braves are close to driving me clinically insane.”

“Close” can be a verb- meaning to cover an opening or bring to an end. For example, “the Braves need to close the gap on the Mets before the All-Star break if they want a shot at the playoffs.”

“Close” can be a noun- meaning the end of something. For example, “the excuses for not winning need to come to a close.”

To recap the beginning of the season until now, one could say “It was another close one for the Braves, who can’t seem to close anything but the fridge door lately, bringing a painfully familiar close to a week of one-run heartbreaks.”

Now that we are all on the same page, let’s see how close the Braves really are…

Close... like a brotherly bond

Let’s start with something feel-good: the always-entertaining, always-electric relationship between Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña Jr. Whether it’s synchronized celebrations, dugout hijinks, or just the vibes they bring to the field, their connection is the heartbeat of this Braves clubhouse. This isn’t just the eye-test speaking, let’s look at the numbers for both when they get to play with each other:

Ronald is currently 16th amongst all National League Outfielders in fWAR… even though he has only played in 18 games. LA BESTIA mode activated!

Ozzie has greatly benefited from his powerful partner being back in the lineup. Look at these stats from @Trenciarte on X or Twitter or whatever.

Close… like one-run games

The Braves have had historically bad outcomes in one-run games this season. Check out this tracker from StatMuse:

Not only have we had a ton of close games, we can’t win them! Usually the shake out is around .500 for winning one-run games, yet we just aren’t even in the ballpark, seemingly literally.

We have really put the “lose” in close this season! Maybe it’s been the lack of the offense, where sometimes it looks like we aren’t even close to hitting the ball. Or maybe it’s the lack of ability to close the game with a closer.

Raisel Iglesias has been dominant for us, just not so far this year. That’s being nice. Not even Pierce Johnson could bring it home for us in San Francisco, when he allowed a walk-off homerun to Matt Chapman to lose by- you guessed it!- one run.

Hard to point fingers when every one needs to step up, but we still believe in progression to the mean. I am not giving up.

Close… as in No Closer Needed!

Spencer Schwellenbach has been a STUD. Yesterday against the Brewers he showed us his ceiling and it was sickkkkkkkkk! That’s 9 k’s as in strikeouts that he fired over 9 innings of pitching, only allowing five hits and two runs. It wasn’t a Maddux, since he took 105 pitches to complete the game, but still wildly impressive and promising.

Schwelly has had 9 or more strikeouts in 3 of his last 4 starts, including back-to-back starts with ELEVEN (!) strikeouts last month. His latest performance might be the spark the team needed as it gave us a series win and momentum heading into this homestand.

Hopefully all of our pitchers follow his lead and #GetSchwelly (yes- I am making that a thing).

Close… as in Close to the All-Star game in Atlanta

I know last week we covered some fun things to do in ATL during All-Star week. Next week we will dig into if anyone not named Sale or Spencer can #GetSchwelly with the All-Star uniform. Go vote!

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

Follow us on Instagram @dugoutseat to vote on upcoming stories, giveaways, and live updates from the park.

Extras for the Real Ones

🗓️ Download Our Full Braves Game Tracker
Download the Game Tracker Here →